Kicking Horse Bike Park - Trail Crew Update #6 - 2011

Sep 8, 2011
by Steve Crowe  
The straight goods on Kicking Horse Bike Park, straight from the trail crew's fingertips.

Just when you think you can't take one more hot day in August, the weather breaks, autumn coolly whispers her misty name, and you're wondering where summer suddenly went. But there are still 3 weekends of biking up here. So while tears are shed, there are trails to shred.

First snow of the season on the Rockies across the valley. Mid August.

First snow of the season on the Rockies across the valley.

Beginning the new Stumpjumper line

Beginning the new Stumpjumper line.


August has been hot and dry so we haven't been doing much dirt patching. But other than spots on Blaster, Superberm and Buffalo Jump, the blowouts aren't too bad. Here's what we have been doing since the Western Open festivus 4 weeks ago:

Stumpjumper
We retired this short stunt trail beneath the gondola a couple of years ago due to its decrepit state. Using the last of our current supply of wood, we resurrected it and are tweaking it for flow.

The wooden stunts that make up 3 4 of the new Stumpjumper.

The wooden stunts that make up 3/4 of the new Stumpjumper.


Training Wheels
We fixed a few berms to improve the flow on the new Training Wheels rebuild. It's almost there, but could use another quick visit with tools.

We fixed a few berms to improve the flow on the new Training Wheels rebuild.

Here's the last we'll see of Nick "Lord Darth Nicholas" Comstock who rode off into the sunset of innocence and got married this weekend. You'll be trading that bike in for a vacuum and washer/dryer any day now Nick.


Lower Kranky Pants
The entire beginning of Lower Kranky Pants was built on a swamp many years ago; hence, the need for the Bridge From Space. It has slowly dried out and we are able to make more permanent solutions, including the particularly duffy section before BFS.

Blown out duff area waiting for a miracle which waits patiently beside.

Blown out duff area, waiting for a miracle, which waits patiently beside.

Fixed a duff zone with concrete and dirt. We are confident this one is going to hold for many moons.

It's the bricks that have been buried, but it is the suckiness of the duff that we hope has been laid to rest.


School Marm
The dirt has been added to the new, permanent wall rides. Now there are entrance and exit options. Removing them at the end of the season is not an option.

New wall rides with multiple ride options.

Showdown
I've been shaking my head a bit dismally over the reroute built last month. It's not what we hoped it would be. We'll need to drag a machine way up there again some time. But at least we know what not to do in the future, so it was a valuable learning experience. Hooray for that!

Fixing a berm with its lip blown off.

Patched up the Disappearing Berm to avoid some nasty surprises.


10 Road
We are gradually expanding the landing zone of this Glory Hip. There is more to do, but it is a lot of rock to move.

We are gradually expanding the landing zone of this Glory Hip. There is more to do but it is a lot of rock to move.

Easy Rider
We rerouted our reroute to further greenify this beginner trail. It seems the key to success is the willingness to recognize and fix your own mistakes. Doesn't that sound like something your mom and dad used to tell you?

A different species of grass delineates where the old Dust Buster trail went.

A different species of grass delineates where the old decommissioned Dust Buster trail went.


Last month of the best lift-accessed downhill mountain biking in the Kootenays is upon us. Get up here before all this gets torn down for winter.

Ride on.

Crowe
www.kickinghorseresort.com


Anyone know what kind of berry these are. Deeelicious.

Anyone know what kind of berry these are? Deeelicious. They certainly stalled work progress a couple of times this year.



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BlackCrowe avatar

Member since Jun 24, 2008
54 articles

29 Comments
  • 5 0
 finally made it out this year, havn't been there in 4 years i beleive it is. What a great place to ride! the trails have "commited trail crew" written all over it, I will definately be making it an annual trip now. Wish i lived closer, normally i have to settle for a weekend at Fernie Alpine as its only 2hrs away. Maybe the owners of KHMR could buy out the shlubs from Fernie Alpine Resort......i agree, what a wonderful idea!! Great job KHMR!
  • 2 0
 Ya, Fernie needs some work. KH and Panorama are slowly going to pass them up.
  • 2 0
 In my opinion fernie is wicked the way it is. ok so maybe their trail crew is tiny and RCR spends more money on patching up grass for weddings than fixing trails, sure... but whatever! most of the other hills just buff out their trails a ton. fernie is the one hill where you can go and consistently get your loamy roost on. raw, loose, fun. i donno, i really like it. too bad it's closed already. g'damn
  • 1 0
 Silver Star, Kicking Horse, and Whistler are still open. All I was getting at is that Fernie has been the same for the last 10 years. Yeah they have added a few things but not much. It's time to add on and grow. Don't get me wrong Fernie is sweet.
  • 1 0
 Thanks to all those involved in keeping things running at KHMR. The trails are in great shape and getting better all the time. I wonder if there is any thought about building a jump trail with some flow to it on the far side of Superburm? The technical stuff and stunts are dialled in, KHMR's version of Pro Star/A line is all that is lacking. Thanks again boys.
  • 1 0
 The build for exactly that was started last year. Unfortunately for reasons beyond our control, our machine budget was slashed this year. We are hoping to resume next season.
  • 3 0
 I got really mangled at KH last summer. The Trail crew did a good job of getting me to tbe base and having an ambulance ready for me. Great people. Cheers.
  • 1 0
 Stop working on 10 road "glory hip" and take a molment to check out the rotting planks on stick rock, as they are starting to mold up pretty good in some places and will cause much injury one day if left neglected.

i intend this as an observation rather than a critacizm.

keep up the good work.
  • 1 0
 Thanks for the heads up. We keep an eye on that stuff all the time and replace when necessary.
  • 1 0
 great job guys and i am sad to say i didnt make it there this year ,,,but for sure on the list for next year..mad props to the whole crew!!!! keep up the good work!
  • 1 0
 Are they a species of boison berry? Great work fellas keep up the hard work and I'll be seeing you all soon!
  • 1 0
 awesome work. Indeed the reroute needs some polishing but it is getting there.
  • 1 0
 Thanks for all the hard work this season guys. Had a blast, be back next season for sure.
  • 2 0
 great write up --- dig the "how they do that", before/after shots.

cool
  • 1 0
 look at how much bark that tree is missing that is behind the berm they re-built
  • 1 0
 Those are called huckleberries where I am from.
  • 2 0
 definitely huckleberries
  • 1 0
 a un-ripe huckleberry.
  • 1 0
 Nothing unripe about them. Sweet as a newborn's smile.
  • 1 0
 There's different types of huckleberries. Depending on the type, they range from the common (where I live) purple ones, to blue, to red.
  • 1 0
 Best. Job. Ever. Can't wait to ride it next season!
  • 1 0
 Does specialized give pro-deals on vacuums?
  • 1 0
 Watch out KHMR im coming next weekend with my new session Big Grin
  • 1 0
 i am definetly goin here looks ace!!!
  • 2 0
 HUCK-leberries!
  • 1 0
 Cant wait to go there next year!
  • 1 0
 bilberries or bleaberrys
  • 1 0
 That's an interesting answer. They are a different colour than the HUCKleberries I'm used to eating here, and there is a valley across the way called Blaeberry. I've always wondered what a blaeberry was.
  • 1 0
 huckleberrys?







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